Who Is Erin Kinsey? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music 2024

At the end of 2021, we introduced you to singer-songwriter, Erin Kinsey. Back then, Kinsey was a budding newcomer trying to make a name for herself in country music. Today, we caught up with the songstress and chatted about all that she has going on today too!

The Texas native grew up with a supportive family, and a desire to try many different things. “I was in every sport you could think of. I was in every club you could think of. Even though I tried a lot of new stuff after I started getting into music, it was so obvious to me that I loved nothing like I loved that,” shared the singer, upon learning that music was her passion.

“I got into music pretty young, I was eleven when I got my first guitar for Christmas,” shared the singer-songwriter. “I picked it up and starting learning the songs I loved on the radio, and then eventually I started writing my own, I really fell in love with it.” Artists like Miranda Lambert inspired her to continue to deepen her craft. “Being from Texas, Miranda Lambert was a huge influence as well. I think it’s one that’s showing itself in my music these days. I didn’t realize it would come full circle for. Lately, those roots have really been shining.”

Then in sixth grade, Kinsey and her family took a family vacation to Nashville, where she fell in love with the city. From that point on, the songstress knew that music was her calling.

“My parents put no road blocks up for me to ever slow down on music. […] They didn’t tell me all the warnings or all the things. They let me just love it and be obsessed with it, and they wanted me to love it more than they wanted me to do anything else and I’m so grateful for that because good lord, it’s a complicated business for sure.”

The Turning Point:

Throughout high school, Kinsey made frequent trips to Nashville to network and write songs with other musicians. Then in 2018, at just seventeen years old, the songstress officially made the move to Music City. “I moved up to Nashville immediately after I graduated in 2018. I packed the U-haul all day, walked the stage at night and then drove off at 6AM the next day,” she declared.

Armed with a desire to learn from the industry, she worked with everyone she could to grow her talent. “For the first year and half to two years that I was here, I really just kept my head down and I wanted to get better at everything,” shared Kinsey. Adding, “Whether I was getting better in the writing room, getting better at guitar, or getting better at singing. I took the time to really grow and develop in a place where there was so many resources and everyone knew what they were doing, and I did not.”

Eventually, Kinsey even grew an impressive social media following, which has only grown her fanbase even more over the years, and the singer is currently the most authentic version of herself yet. “A lot has changed in the last couple of years for me, while also a lot is exactly the same. I’m still with the same label. I still have a lot of the same team around me that I had around me then. I do not have the boyfriend that I had then,” she shared.

“There’s been a lot of years where I didn’t think that was who I could be, being that bold and neon colored, and having a lot to say, and being spunky, and different, and leaning into being a little bit quirky – I just didn’t feel comfortable doing that, and to be honest, it was because I was 18, 19, 20, I was so young. […] Everyone one just wants to fit in and feel comfortable, and I think I toned a lot of that down, and as I got older, and as I had a heartbreak, and I learned that I can fly to different cities and play shows myself and get home okay, I just felt more comfortable being whoever I was.”

Today:

Right now, Kinsey is at her absolute best! She has really found her voice in country music, and unapologetically expresses herself through her music. “When I’m not the most polished version of myself, people have been so welcoming with my music. In the last six months especially, I’ve really just leaned in to going with my gut and saying whatever comes to mind, wearing whatever I want to wear, releasing the songs I want to release and I’ve never been more proud of my music and my image, and my brand.”

Her most recent songs, “I Ain’t Crazy” and “Wild” are two of her most impressive songs to date. “I Aint’ Crazy” is also a viral sensation, which the singer wrote two years before releasing it. “I wrote it and the song came from a true place, I was going through it, and I remember writing it, and thinking I’ll never release it. […] What I didn’t know, it would be fun for me two years later [to release]. It was a song that I came back to and I kept remembering, and it like haunted me. It was just so fun to be her, to be who I got to be when I wrote that song, and the confidence that she had. I think it was almost me writing who I hoped to be one day in the situation I was in. […] It did so much for my heart and also it’s so fun,” she shared.

With “Wild,” Kinsey wanted to share a different side to her talent and continue down the path that “I Ain’t Crazy” helped her carve. Written with Josh Kerr and Sara Buxton, “Wild” embodies what it’s like to want to do something that could get you in trouble, but it’s all in good fun.

“I kind of had this vision for the song. I think it’s moody and kind of sexy with the guitar riff. I think the idea is about saying that something seems impossible and crazy, but deep down you actually think it might be fun within the context of a guy,” shared Kinsey.

Both songs feel like a new era of music for the songstress. While it is still just a new beginning for Kinsey, she has already promised more new music coming soon. Stay tuned!

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